Page 8 of Kill Your Darlings

“That must have been difficult,” I said.“I’m sorry.”

He shrugged.“Like you said, it was a long time ago.”

This was getting depressing.I changed the subject.“Tell me about your next project.”

That’s a question guaranteed to stimulateat leastan hour’s worth of conversation from any writer.To my surprise, Kyle hesitated.

I glanced his way, and his expression was uncharacteristically somber.

“Are you taking a break?”It wasn’t great timing, but it wasn’t the end of the world, either.Better a break than burnout.

“No.No, I have a project in mind.I want to do a standalone.”

I said briskly, “A standalone is a great idea.A standalone could be the breakout book we’re all expecting.Have you started it?”

“Yes.I’m about halfway through.”

“Okay.Well, when you’re ready to send it over—”

“Keiran,” he interrupted.“We’ve worked together for a few years and I feel like if I ask you to be honest, you’ll…be honest.”

I blinked, said, “I’ve never not been honest with you.I will never not be honest with you.”

“My agent is thinking this merger with W&W isn’t going to be good for me.In fact, he thinks it won’t be good for you.He said you probably won’t stay on.”

It came out of the blue, but maybe it shouldn’t have.Of course there was going to be concern, skepticism, and maybe even a couple of full-onabandon ships!I wasn’t expecting to be confronted so quickly—or from this quarter—and it took me a couple of seconds to sort through the whirl of emotions, largely panic.Who the fuck was his agent again?I was blanking.Did Kyle’s agent know something I didn’t?Was there a rumor circulating that I was on the chopping block?WasI on the chopping block?

Kyle finished with, “He thinks we should pitch it somewhere else.Maybe Theodore Mansfield.I guess Wheaton & Woodhouse’s contracts are close to predatory?”

The P word.

I pulled myself together, stopped walking and faced him.“I’m not going to tell you where to pitch your next project.That’s your agent’s job, and it sounds like he’s got your best interests at heart.I can tell you that he’s right, W&W’s contracts are not as favorable as Millbrook’s were.But one of the things I’ve been working on with Lila Penderak, my counterpart at W&W, is coming up with-with contractual compromises in order to retain our most valuable authors.”

“Yeah, but that’s not me.”

“What?It sure as hellis.The third book in the Outfit series outsold the first.That’s almost unheard of.That’s the trajectory every publisher loves to see.As far as I’m concerned, you’re absolutely one of the authors we need to make an effort to retain.”

“Is W&W going to see it that way?Why would they?”

“W&W has a strongly vested interest in retaining top talent.For a lot of purely practical reasons.I’m planning to go through this in more detail with you and the others on Sunday evening.”

“Okay, but if you’re not going to be around for much longer…”

I tamped down my alarm, stated firmly, “Unless your agent knows something I don’t, I have every intention of being around for the next twenty or so years.”

He stared at me gravely in the hazy light, and then shook his head.“Okay.”

There was a mixed message.The head was saying one thing, the heart another.

It had to be asked.“Are you unhappy with our working relationship?”

“Huh?”Kyle sounded startled.“No.Hell, no.”

“That’s a relief.”No lie.“Listen, I’m going to do everything possible to make sure this merger works out for all of us.”How the hell I’d manage that; I had no idea.But I smiled.“So, tell me about this breakout book.”

We resumed walking, and Kyle told me about his book, which did sound like maybe this would be the one.

Eventually, I spotted a painted restaurant sign swaying gently in the damp breeze—a laughing seagull with what appeared to be a surprisingly cheerful shrimp in his beak.

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